OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS RADIO) – Following days of marathon negotiations, Oakland teachers are taking to the picket line after failing to come to a contract agreement with the school district.
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Schools will remain open during the strike with administrators stepping in to take over classes. But for the 34,000 students within Oakland Unified, today will be a contrast from the norm.
3,000 teachers are participating in the strike, asking for a pay raise that will bring teachers' salaries in line with the median in Alameda County, among other requests.
"It is absolutely frustrating," said Vilma Serrano, a teacher and co-chair of the bargaining team. "We have been very committed this whole time to settling a contract. We're here because this whole process has been dysfunctional. It's broken."
Teachers are also asking for what they're calling "common good demands," surrounding access and equity, homelessness, environmental justice and reparations. They said it reflects the new realities of teaching that stretch beyond the traditional work day.
During a news conference Thursday afternoon, Oakland Unified officials said they're disappointed that the process has reached this point and apologized for the disruption to families.
"It's very disappointing to me, when it felt like we were really having movement towards an agreement, that this is where we find ourselves now," said School Board President Mike Hutchinson.
Both sides agree the district has a teacher retention problem. To fix this, Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell said OUSD is prioritizing compensation of around $70 million in its latest proposal.
"The latest salary proposal would give teachers an unprecedented raise, one that they deserve, and one that OUSD teachers haven't seen in years, if not decades," she said.
Now, the main sticking points are the "common good demands." District officials said they agree with the common good demands principle, but argue that some are too large for a school district to tackle on its own.
OUSD claimed it's the teachers that walked away from the bargaining table and reaffirmed that they are eager to strike a deal as soon as possible.
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